How Do Millennials And Gen Z Influence Digital Banking Innovations?

While the Y generation was born between the 1980s and 1990s, the Gen Z was the generation born in the early 2000s. The common features of these generations are that they are used to completing their financial needs with digital banking solutions.

Today, even members of these two generations before these two generations are used to online banking tools such as mobile applications. Therefore, both fintech products and services and other digital banking innovations are expected to be more advanced, dynamic and fast for these two generations.

A significant part of the customer networks of today’s financial institutions are generations Y and Z. In terms of the principle of financial inclusion, financial institutions and platforms need to offer special solutions to their customers who have grown with the dynamics of this generation.

Financial institutions strive to reduce loyalty to physical branches in the modern world and create digital ecosystems where almost all financial needs are met through online channels. Undoubtedly, the most effective sources of motivation for this type of digital banking innovation are Y and Z generation customers.

What Are The Unique Preferences Of Millennials And Gen Z In Banking?

Unlike older generations, Y and Z generation customers have some unique preferences and expectations for their financial needs. Especially the digital infrastructure and the mobile application with easy-to-use interface are among the top expectations. Although there are also some differences in the expectations of millennials and Z generation, there are not very dramatic differences in the context of financial needs.

Financial needs such as asset transfers, invoice payments, foreign exchange transactions, taking loans remotely and online without the obligation to go to physical branches should be met via a mobile phone. For the older customer profile from these two generations ago, it is still more common to visit the physical bank branch for most of these transactions.

Financial institutions, whose digital solutions have been colored, are more preferred for these two generations that want to complete their financial needs in a short time and in a practical way through mobile phones. According to statistics and survey results, financial institutions or banks with the least loyalty to both ATMs and branches are more preferred by the Y and Z generations.

How Are Banks Adapting To The Expectations Of Younger Generations?

Banks need to hold a separate team responsible to define today’s generation and their current needs and to produce solutions suitable for these factors. Financial institutions, especially in the traditional banking ecosystem, are slower in adapting to providing special financial services or products for their clients in the younger generation.

Digital banking platforms, on the other hand, offer a service understanding that is more in accordance with the principle of financial inclusion thanks to the online solutions they offer.

Many banks carry out special promotional campaigns for social media platforms, the majority of whose users such as Tiktok and Instagram are formed by Y and Z generations. The aim of such promotional studies is to closely determine the financial needs of younger generations and to provide direct solutions. In this way, customers in younger generations establish a deeper bond with their banks.

We know that banks or financial institutions allocate resources and energy to identify the needs of young people and expand the perspective of more accurate service. However, they should better analyze the expectations of new generations and add diversified services and products to their digital solutions, taking these factors into account.

For example, in recent years, many banks have been publishing their loan offers through content suitable for popular trends on social media platforms or through content in the form of cooperation by communicating with the influencer. The main motivation here is the efforts of banks to adapt to the financial expectations of younger generations.

What Role Does Mobile Banking Play In Attracting Millennial And Gen Z Customers?

Among the financial solutions, the most effective service for Generation Y and Z is mobile banking. Almost all of these two young generations complete their financial needs through mobile applications. Financial institutions that aspire to have more customers should devote energy and resources to mobile application development to influence younger generations.

When we take a look at the customer statistics of large financial institutions serving internationally today, it is seen that those who have more customers from the Y and Z generations offer advanced mobile applications. From this statistical phenomenon, it is seen that younger generations attach more importance to mobile application services.

In traditional banking, financial institutions would compete with each other with the number of branches and the number of personnel. However, in today’s digital world, mobile application solutions are one step ahead of the competition by reaching better and more advanced customers from a younger generation.

Are Fintech Collaborations Geared Toward Millennials And Gen Z?

One of the biggest sources of motivation for Fintech startups or startups is that banks can have more customers from a younger generation. Innovative solutions such as contactless payment, payment by QR code, online foreign exchange transactions, payment with cryptocurrencies are services offered with fintech collaborations. This type of technology-based financial services attract attention from Y and Z generations.

Fintech companies, which are looking for ways to make financial products and services more practical and safe, are responsible for determining the needs of young generations and developing appropriate solutions during their studies.

Today’s new financial needs and the unity expectations of young people should be determined by fintech companies and the most appropriate solutions should be developed. Although it takes more slowly for financial institutions in traditional banking ecosystems to complete this adaptation, I can consider it a certain fact that competition in finance will be measured with digital skills in the near future.

What Insights Can Banks Gain From Gen Z To Drive Innovation?

Before determining the financial needs of Gen Z, financial institutions should first look for ways to get acquainted with this younger generation more deeply. Social media ads that may be of interest to young people may not always be as effective as they think.

In order to determine the financial expectations of Z-generation customers, it is useful to first follow the common characteristics, orientations and trends of this generation.

Today, many consulting firms offer both fintech companies and financial institutions the orientations and financial patterns of Z and Y generation young customer profiles. Financial institutions offer more suitable financial products and services with these dynamics.

See you in the next post,

Anil UZUN